The present invention relates to golf carts, and relates more specifically to a wheel mounting structure which improve the structure of the wheel assembly disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,175.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,175 discloses a device for coupling a wheel to a golf club carrier. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the device comprises a sleeve member inserted into the axle of a wheel, a fixing rod extending from the leg of a golf club carrier and inserted through the head portion of the sleeve member into the inner diameter thereof, and a lever turnably connected between two parallel lugs by a pivot for locking the sleeve member. The head portion has radial grooves, which engage with radial ribs on the fixing rod upon the insertion of the fixing rod into the sleeve member. The lever has a clamping head, which is forced into engagement with a hole on the tongue of the head portion of the sleeve member when the lever is depressed. This wheel mounting structure is complicated to install. Furthermore, because the fixing rod is made from stainless steel, it can not be injection molded on the leg of the golf club carrier. Therefore, the installation cost of this wheel mounting structure in high.
The present invention has been accomplished to provide a wheel mounting structure for mounting a wheel to the leg of a golf club carrier which is easy to install and inexpensive to manufacture. According to the present invention, the wheel mounting structure comprises a wheel shaft fastened to a locating hole on the leg of a golf club carrier to hold a wheel, and a lever pivoted to the leg and turned to lock the wheel shaft, wherein the wheel shaft has locating block at one end fitted into the locating hole, a collar connected to the locating block and stopped outside the locating hole; the lever has a stop rod section and a retainer rod section which are respectively forced into engagement with a recessed bottom hole on the locating block and a bottom retaining groove on the collar when the lever is turned to the locking position to lock the wheel shaft. Because most parts of this wheel mounting structure are injection-molded from plastics, the installation cost of this wheel mounting structure is less expensive.